Posted on 10/11/2007 5:20:46 PM PDT by Vets_Husband_and_Wife
Here is a copy of the first article I read, but I will address what I found out from Senators Boxers office and Sen. Fienstiens office today (10/11/07). I know this has been posted here before, BUT, it has now PASSED in Congress!
Read on:
Veterans Disarmament Act To Bar Vets From Owning Guns Larry Pratt
Sunday September 23, 2007
Hundreds of thousands of veterans -- from Vietnam through Operation Iraqi Freedom -- are at risk of being banned from buying firearms if legislation that is pending in Congress gets enacted.
How? The Veterans Disarmament Act -- which has already passed the House -- would place any veteran who has ever been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on the federal gun ban list.
This is exactly what President Bill Clinton did over seven years ago when his administration illegitimately added some 83,000 veterans into the National Criminal Information System (NICS system) -- prohibiting them from purchasing firearms, simply because of afflictions like PTSD.
The proposed ban is actually broader. Anyone who is diagnosed as being a tiny danger to himself or others would have his gun rights taken away ... forever. It is section 102((1)©(iv) in HR 2640 that provides for dumping raw medical records into the system.
Those names -- like the 83,000 records mentioned above -- will then, by law, serve as the basis for gun banning.
No wonder the Military Order of the Purple Heart is opposed to this legislation. The House bill, HR 2640, is being sponsored by one of the most flaming anti-Second Amendment Representatives in Congress: Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY).
Another liberal anti-gunner, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), is sponsoring the bill in the Senate.
Proponents of the bill say that helpful amendments have been made so that any veteran who gets his name on the NICS list can seek an expungement.
But whenever you talk about expunging names from the Brady NICS system, you're talking about a procedure that has always been a long shot. Right now, there are NO EXPUNGEMENTS of law-abiding Americans' names that are taking place under federal level.
Why? Because the expungement process which already exists has been blocked for over a decade by a "funds cut-off" engineered by another anti-gunner, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).
So how will this bill make things even worse?
Well, two legal terms are radically redefined in the Veterans Disarmament Act to carry out this vicious attack on Veterans' gun rights.
One term relates to who is classified a "mental defective." Forty years ago that term meant one was adjudicated "not guilty" in a court of law by reason of insanity. But under the Veterans Disarmament Act, "mental defective" has been stretched to include anyone whom a psychiatrist determines might be a tiny danger to self or others.
The second term is "adjudicate." In the past, one could only lose one's gun rights through an adjudication by a judge, magistrate or court -- meaning conviction after a trial. Adjudication could only occur in a court with all the protections of due process, including the right to face one's accuser.
Now, adjudication in HR 2640 would include a finding by "a court, commission, committee or other authorized person" (namely, a psychiatrist).
Forget the fact that people with PTSD have the same violent crime rate as the rest of us. Vietnam vets with PTSD have had careers and obtained permits to carry firearms concealed.
It will now be enough for a psychiatric diagnosis (a "determination" in the language of the bill) to get a veteran barred for life from owning guns.
Think of what this bill would do to veterans. If a robber grabs your wallet and takes everything in it, but gives you back $5 to take the bus home, would you call that a financial enhancement? If not, then we should not let HR 2640 supporters call the permission to seek an expungement an enhancement, when prior to this bill, veterans could not legitimately be denied their gun rights after being diagnosed with PTSD.
Veterans with PTSD should not be put in a position to seek an expungement. They have not been convicted (after a trial with due process) of doing anything wrong.
If a veteran is thought to be a threat to self or others, there should be a real trial, not an opinion (called a diagnosis) by a psychiatrist.
If members of Congress do not hear from soldiers (active duty and retired) in large numbers, along with the rest of the public, the Veterans Disarmament Act -- misleadingly titled by Rep. McCarthy as the NICS Improvement Amendments Act -- will send this message to veterans: "No good deed goes unpunished."
If members of Congress do not hear from soldiers (active duty and retired) in large numbers, along with the rest of the public, the Veterans Disarmament Act -- misleadingly titled by Rep. McCarthy as the NICS Improvement Amendments Act -- will send this message to veterans: "No good deed goes unpunished."
Holy Crap!
Some discussion here (about halfway down): http://www.melaniemorgan.com/latest/rush-media-matters-and-veterans-disarmament-act-2.html
And here: http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=219&issue=018
Here’s the bill: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-2640
Good idea!!
Very disturbing thought. For instance the teacher in Oregon who wants to carry concealed because she fears her x husband. She could easily be classified PTSD.
Bump.
“Is there a list of who voted for & against this bill?” That’s what I’d like to see!
I am not surprised at all. This is what we deserve for electing those traitors in the house. I wonder who voted for this crap.
Ping to self
I’ll be making some calls after work today.
Anybody know if Rush knows about this?
Good thing I’m only a year-long NRA member, because I’m not going to extend my membership.
Bush had better veto. And if the NRA supports this, they’ve jumped the shark.
We had a short engagement and took out the very operational forward listening post. We were told to stand by in place for further orders.
I was scanning the horizon for signs of the enemy as we were some few miles into enemy territory.
I saw 2 A-10 Warthogs circling a few miles out with the IR TOW sight. We had been airlifted over the first minefield by CH-53 helicopters with Cobra and Hornet escorts earlier that night.
I thought for a second that maybe I should attempt to contact air command to verify they knew we were friendlies, but decided to maintain radio silence instead, figuring they were sent to watch over us.
A few minutes later a Maverick missile came in and killed five of my brothers.
I tried to pull on of them from the flames and the skin came off his arm in my hand.
I have troubling sleeping to this day, and cannot get enough sleep to properly function as a productive worker without the aid of some sleeping pills.
They say this is PTSD. I am ashamed that I have to have some help in this manner...I just feel so guilty over not preventing this. I was only 18.
There are a lot of vets that will not speak of their experiences out of the shame of accepting some help from the VA. This gun ban will affect many.
just talked to Cornyn’s staff this has not passed out of the senate or subcommitte. it is still on hold in the judiciary subcommittee.
don’t know where this started but per Cornyn’s staff it has not moved.
r
bttt
I just got off phone with my congress critters phone monkey......told him to quit sending me newsletters and requests for donations. His actions on this bill just lost him my vote for re-election. That his lack of attention to detail shows him to be irresponsible and not worthy of my trust, my money or my vote.
I am gonna send him a snail mail letter with a “Resumes for Dummies” PDF Book later in the week. TXDOT needs a new sign holder on the pot hole crew.....
We are being undermined and sold out!
Be Ever Vigilant!
Friday, June 15, 2007
Here are the facts: H.R. 2640 would provide financial incentives to states to make records of prohibited individuals available for use in the NICS, and would also require federal agencies to provide such records. Those blocked from buying a gun due to these newly provided and updated records in the NICS are already prohibited under current law from owning firearms.
I do not have further updates from the NRA. Maybe Shooter does.
Info about HR2640 has been posted on FR for over a month. It started with GOA’s alert about HR2640 being gun control and that it would affect Vets. NRA released an alert that stated it wasn’t and that they supported it. GOA released another alert, so did JPFO, that told of problems in the bill. There are many on this site that are for the bill and believe that it is not gun control or that it does not do what GOA says it will do.
I find it funny that this bill is not called gun control yet the Brady law, which this bill expands/enhances, was considered gun control.
And I betcha all the "civil (gag) libertarians " voted for this atrocity.
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